A. Area of Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise device for strengthening the core muscles (made up of abdominal area, lower lumbar, and hips), quads, hamstrings, and glute area of cross-training athletes.
B. Prior Art
In recent years, cross-training has developed as a standalone area of competition and physical fitness. Therein, the aim of cross-training is to afford a broad, general and inclusive regime of fitness and then to prepare a trainee for particular physical contingencies and unknown situations. In cross-training, particular physical tasks and areas of training have developed as physical skills and adaptations thereof that facilitate enhanced performance and competitive advantage within the philosophy and objectives of cross-training. Cross-training has been defined as a physical regimen which optimizes fitness through conditions of varied functional movements which are performed at a relatively high intensity. It has evolved through a communal network which includes accredited trainers, workouts, competition, and foundations to further the methodology thereof. A cross-training regimen is one of constantly varied, functional movement and intensity undertaken together with other like-minded athletes.
Many of the demands requisite of cross-training of necessity create intersections with areas of fitness that are general to many sports. As such, a number of the areas of focus of this style of training have proven to be of interest to athletes concerned with various specific sports.
In cross-training, as is the case in many areas, strength, flexibility and durability of the ankles, lower leg and knee are paramount. Standalone exercise boots have appeared only rarely in the prior art, this as opposed to the incorporation thereof into a larger piece of exercise equipment. Such exercise boots which are known to exist in the art are U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,364 (1992) to Donaldson, entitled Weight Attachable Leg Exercise Device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,298 (1999) to Lekhtman, entitled Exercise Boot; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,770,930 (2010) to McLeod, entitled Exercise Weight For Ice Skates.